ST. LOUIS, MO. – New Illinois women’s basketball coach Shauna Green sat at a table under a pavilion on the upper deck concourse at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night, riding out a thunderstorm.
The first-year Illinois women’s basketball coach signed autographs, took photos, and greeted waiting fans at Illini night in St. Louis. Green was set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the second game of a three-game series between the Cardinals and rival Chicago Cubs.
The game was eventually called and rescheduled as part of a double-header the next day. Green stayed over, determined not to miss the opportunity for some free publicity for her program, and eventually got to take the mound. She fired a strike, of course. Hopefully, it’s an omen of things to come, albeit a modest one.
Green, who was previously the head coach at Dayton, has an uphill battle. She takes over an Illini team that hasn’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and went a combined 7-77 in Big Ten play during previous coach Nancy Fahey’s five-year run.
She’s added some talent to the roster, but Green says the first hurdle is establishing the right culture. It’s all about maximum and consistent effort.
“It’s about doing things one way, which is the right way,” she said. “And as hard as you can go. Give it everything you can, as together as we can – as passionately as you can. So, it really means giving it everything you got every single day.”
Familiarity with her staff is a big piece of the puzzle.
Green brought assistant coaches Calamity McEntire, Ryan Gensler and DAntoine “Cat” Beasley with her from Dayton, where they helped win five Atlantic 10 regular season championships in six seasons and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Two Dayton players followed their coach to Illinois in junior guard Makira Cook and sophomore forward Bryann Shoup-Hill. Last season, Cook was named the A-10 Most Improved Player and was second team All-Conference.
“It’s always nice when you have a couple of players that have had success in that system and that are with our team now,” Green said. “Then, to have a staff that has success with that. They believe in it, right? It’s not just talk. It’s kind of a proven method and blueprint that we know.”
Illinois women’s basketball isn’t likely to become a winner overnight. The lack of winning tradition makes recruiting a hard sell.
The last Illini WBB team with a winning record was in 2012-13, Matt Bollant’s first season, when the Illini went 19-14 overall and finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten. Fahey, a Hall of Fame coach and five-time Division III national champion at Wash U. in St. Louis, was never able to get Illinois over the hump. She retired in March after 35 years as a coach.
Green is a welcome change. She’s certainly much more visible. Besides her appearance at Busch Stadium, she went on the road for the Illinois Tailgate Tour this summer, and she has a robust profile on social media. Green has a no-nonsense style, and she doesn’t mince words in getting her message across.
“I tell our kids every single day, being elite and trying to compete at a championship level is really, really hard,” Green said. “And that’s why there’s so many average people on average teams to talk about.”
Green brought that attitude to the court as a standout player at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. She is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,012 points was inducted into the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame.
Her old-school approach is similar to men’s coach Brad Underwood, a quality that obviously caught the attention of UI Athletic Director Josh Whitman. She plans to build a culture known for its toughness. Sound familiar?
“We’re going to defend at a high level, and we may not be where we need to be this year,” Green said. “But we’re going to continue to work on that and get better with that. We’re going to rebound at an elite level. It’s going to be a process. But that’s what we hang our hat on.”
“You do those couple things and then you have some pretty good players, I believe that success will come.”
A fresh approach to recruiting
It’s all about relationships in recruiting, and Green seems to get it. She’s taken an aggressive approach, getting to know prospective recruits and their families early in their high school careers.
“We recruit in a family approach, so our family is going to get to know their family,” Green said.
Unlike previous WBB staffs, Green plays the recruiting game out in the open. Just like in the men’s program, prospective recruits are tweeting out Illinois scholarship offers. Being savvy on social media won’t turn the program around on its own, but it’s part of creating buzz and building the brand.
Obviously, talent matters. Green is looking for difference makers and buck-getters, especially within the state borders. But she’s also looking for high character athletes with a strong work ethic and a blue-collar approach.
“If you’re kind of going back and forth on any of those things then it’s probably not going to be a good fit for us,” Green said. “We need to go and find them, and it starts in Illinois. There’s a couple in our 2023 class – a couple of top recruits, that we’re going after that can do both. They can score and they can defend. They’re good people and they have high character.”
One of her first and most talented recruits was already on board when Green took over the program. She just had to convince her to stick with the Illini.
Freshman Camille Jackson was an All-State guard at Butler College Prep in Chicago. She could be a foundational piece. Jackson was ranked as the No. 65 national recruit by ESPN in the 2022 class.
She finished her high school career with 1,402 points, 676 rebounds, 523 assists, 327 steals and 100 blocks in 102 high school games. Jackson trusted Green enough to maintain her commitment to Illinois despite committing to Fahey and being recruited by former assistant Corry Irvin, who is now at Mississippi State.
"I chose Illinois because I saw nothing but opportunities there to help build an upcoming program, and to also fulfill my goal of creating the biggest impact, for myself, my school and my home state,” Jackson said in a statement when she signed. “I wanted to be a part of a change, and I know the university, team and coaching staff will put me in the best position possible to reach my goals during and after college."
Ultimately, Green will take quality players with varied skill sets. The Illini need an influx of talent to jump on board with Jackson. But high character is one quality that’s non-negotiable.
“If you don’t have character, and you’re not a good person that’s just not going to work out,” Green said. “It’s just not. If you get really good players and really good people that work hard and they believe in what you’re doing, then you can compete.”